


Ch-ch-changes

by justdk



Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: College, College!Adam, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-12-09 23:51:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11679672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justdk/pseuds/justdk
Summary: A day in the life of Adam Parrish, college student.





	Ch-ch-changes

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Pynch Week 2017

“Adam, when am I finally going to meet your mysterious boyfriend?” Jay yells from across the library. It’s getting near one am and most of the students have cleared out, leaving Adam and Jay in peace to shelve. Well, mostly in peace. Jay keeps prying but Adam doesn’t really mind.

“He’s coming to pick me up tomorrow, after class,” Adam replies. He shelves the _Collected Works of Shakespeare_ and pushes his cart down the row. Jay starts singing a Queen song at top volume and Adam checks to make sure that none of the students are within earshot. The library’s closing soon and from what he can see they’ve got the place to themselves. Adam hums along, not knowing all the words, but he joins in at the chorus.

“You should invite him to the play!” Jay shouts. “He knows about the play, right?”

Adam shelves Rumi and squirms. “Well, sort of. It’s been a bit difficult, me being away. We haven’t even Skyped or seen each other since I moved in. I don’t know… I don’t think he’s handling being on his own very well.”

Jay abandons his cart and comes over to sit on Adam’s mostly empty cart. “That sucks. I mean, I’ve never done long distance so I can’t really give you any advice. Do you guys talk at all?”

“About once a week,” Adam says with a sigh. “I almost always call him. He hates phones. But we chat a lot online, usually in the middle of the night because he doesn’t sleep.”

Jay’s phone vibrates and he fishes it out of his pocket to show Adam a cat GIF that his boyfriend sent. Adam grins appreciatively. Despite their differences he and Jay have become good friends; it was Jay who recruited him to work with the drama department and do backstage work for their fall production. Adam is used to having an extremely full schedule so taking on volunteer work feels natural and it fills in the spaces left by Ronan and Gansey, Blue and Henry, Noah. It fills the Glendower void and the absence of Cabeswater. It helps to stave off his homesickness.

“Oh, dude, it’s closing time!” Jay announces. Adam blinks and studies his watch; it’s the old grubby one he leant to Opal, she gave it back to him when he left for college. He traces the bite marks on the band, missing the little dream girl and her peculiar antics. One more day, he’ll get to see her in one more day.

Adam helps Jay close the library and they walk back to the dorms together. Jay’s boyfriend meets him outside and the two of them say goodnight to Adam before leaving. Baz hops on Jay’s back and makes him carry him piggyback to their dorm building. Adam smiles and shakes his head at them, feeling wistful.

When he gets back to his dorm suite Adam finds the other guys gaming in the sitting area. They yell greetings (and expletives, but those are directed at the game). Adam checks the fridge and grabs the apple he snuck out of the dining hall. He’s gotten used to having readily available food and, unlike most of his classmates, he’s good about eating well. Fridays are a cheat day, though. On Fridays he gets an omelet, bacon, grits, and raisin toast for breakfast; meatball sub with a side salad for lunch; and pizza and ice cream at dinner. But the rest of the week is balanced meals. That, plus unlimited gym access, added up to an extra fifteen pounds on his frame.

Adam is pretty pleased with the physical changes that eating and working out have wrought on his body, but clothing is an issue. His jeans are tight around his waist and, according to Jay, his butt. (The theater kids have all been very appreciative of how much he’s changed; Talia and Samir have taken to calling him “stud muffin.”) His shirts are almost embarrassingly tight; Adam wears the librarian sweater that Jay gifted him all the time to hide the way his arm muscles strain at his shirt sleeves. According to Dani, another library worker, Adam has amassed a small following of library groupies who only visit during his shift. It’s weirdly flattering. He still can’t grow facial hair for anything, but he doesn’t really mind. Shaving means taking more time on his appearance and buying razors.

Even though he knows that it’s silly Adam spends a lot of time planning his outfit for the next day. He hasn’t seen Ronan in months and he wants to look good but not too different. His hair (cut for free by Talia) is styled in an undercut, which he loves, partly because he doesn’t have to do anything to it most mornings. Adam reviews his wardrobe and picks some fairly nice jeans and a T-shirt he found at the local thrift store, it’s faded grey with line art of a skull and a raven on it.

He lays the clothes out on his bed and packs his duffle bag. All of his homework has been completed ahead of time so he doesn’t even need to bring textbooks or notes; for one blissful week it’ll be vacation, the first real vacation he’s ever had. He has no idea what Ronan has planned but he knows they’re going somewhere for part of the week. All Ronan would say is “pack some shoes.”

—–

Adam barely sleeps that night. He’s too excited about seeing Ronan. And he’s anxious. He’s changed so much since coming to college, not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, _socially_. He came to campus _tabula rasa_ and he’s loved having the opportunity to present who he truly is without the stigma that always followed him at Aglionby. Here no one knows that he lived in a trailer, that his father beat him, that he moved out on his own and worked three jobs to put himself through school. He’s been able to find like-minded people. Sure, they’re not Ronan, Gansey, Blue, Noah, or Henry—nothing will ever come close to matching the intensity of those bonds—but his new friends are compassionate and fun, smart and opinionated. He’s been roped into volunteering with the theater department and the garden club (he gets free produce), he’s even helped out at an animal shelter on Saturdays. Jay brings him along to the LGBTQ group events. It seems like every weekend he has social plans, whether it’s impromptu movie nights or excursions to offbeat places around town. He’s learning what it’s like to let other people in and it makes him worry about Ronan even more—how is he doing at the Barns when his only companions are a dream child and animals?

Classes that day seem to drag on and Adam fidgets, checking his phone constantly even though he knows that Ronan won’t text him. It’s probable that Ronan will just show up at his door after sneaking in the dorm or bullying his way in. It’s likely that Chainsaw will be with him for Aesthetic. Adam resists the impulse to text Ronan.

After class Adam goes to the dining hall for lunch with Dani and some of her friends. He texts his suitemates but they report that there have been no boyfriend sightings (they remember Ronan from move in day and they’re both terrified and eager about the prospect of seeing him again). Adam takes his time walking back to the dorm, enjoying the cool weather and the way the leaves look. He knows that the Barns will be gorgeous: the trees decked out in autumn colors, the pumpkin patch he started will be ready for harvesting. He closes his eyes and imagines it: the early morning fog hanging heavy over the fields, crows haunting the trees at the edge of the woods, deer and cattle grazing side by side, _the quiet_ …

“Parrish?”

Adam’s eyes snap open and he spins around because… because…

“Ronan!”

Ronan is propping up the side of Adam’s dorm building, looking effortlessly cool and badass with his shredded jeans, black leather jacket, biker boots, and freshly shaved head. His expression is, well, it’s a new expression. He’s looking at Adam as if he’s never seen him before. Adam feels worry prick at his heart but he shakes it off and jogs over.

“Hey,” he says, standing in front of Ronan, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot because why isn’t Ronan saying anything? Why isn’t he doing _something_?

“Christ.“ The word is spoken with quiet intensity. “What the fuck have they been feeding you?” Ronan asks. He steps forward and grabs Adam’s biceps in his hands, squeezing. “Dude… turn around.”

Adam’s blushing now but he does as Ronan says, doing a full pivot for his boyfriend. A passing student wolf whistles.

“Did you get new jeans?” Ronan sounds a bit hoarse.

“Um, no,” Adam mutters. “I just grew into them I guess.”

“You guess?” Ronan’s eyebrows are signaling intense interest. “How in the fuck—you look like you’ve gained ten pounds.”

“Fifteen, actually,” Adam corrects him, grinning.

“Fifteen! Get the fuck out,” Ronan matches Adam’s grin with a predatory smile. “You even look taller. And check out your hair! Gansey is gonna lose his shit.”

“Gansey?”

“Yeah, man. We’re gonna meet up with the Fearsome Threesome somewhere in the Smoky Mountains. That’s why I said bring shoes.”

Adam nods, feeling such a strong rush of emotions that it’s almost too much. “So, my hair, you like it?”

Ronan ruffles Adam’s hair and strokes his fingers over the shaved sides and back. “It’s fucking hot,” Ronan answers, a rough growl in his voice that makes Adam wish they were in the privacy of his room instead of standing out in the open.

“Good,” he replies, and takes Ronan by the hand and drags him into the dorm. He’s extremely thankful that his suitemates have had the decency to leave for the afternoon: he and Ronan have a lot of catching up to do.

**Author's Note:**

> I am officially in love with writing about college!adam. I want him to have the BEST college experience. The Freshman Fifteen was an idea that hit me a while ago and I’ve been dying to write about it so yay! The title of this fic is a reference to David Bowie’s song “Changes”
> 
> You can find me on tumblr @dkafterdark


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